Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	prophet_n	zeal_n	zealous_a	19	3	9.0186	4	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A61848	Heavenly treasure, or, Mans chiefest good wherein the several workings of the heart about, and in pursuance of its chiefest good are solidly and judiciously discovered / by William Strong.	Strong, William, d. 1654.; Sedgwick, Obadiah, 1600?-1658. Elisha his lamentation upon the sudden translation of Elijah.	1656 (1656)	Wing S6004; ESTC R25154	135,945	535

dear Childe my Father my Father As David once about Absolom my Son my Son So Elisha here for Elijah my Father my Father Ah my Father my Father Oh I have lost a Father my Father such a Father The Chaldee Interpreter renders it Rabbi Rabbi my Master my Master But in the Hebrew it is Abba Abba my Father my Father 2. The publique loss The Charet of Israel and the horsemen thereof As if he had said one of the best instrumental helps and safeties that all Israel enjoyed is now taken away O the staff and the stay is broken What the Charet and the Horsemen are to an Army or to a State and what the loss of them is unto a State That was the life and that was the loss of this Prophet Elijah unto all Israel There are two Propositions onely which I would briefly discourse upon from this Text at this time and with respect to this sad occasion 1. That even the most eminently Faithfull and Zealous Prophets of God may be and shall be taken away from a people 2. That the loss of any one eminently Faithful and Zealous Prophet of God should affect the hearts of people with exceeding Grief and Lamentation I begin with the first of these 1. Proposition That even the most eminently Faithfull and Zealous Prophets of God may be and shall be taken away from a people The Prophets or Ministers of God they are of different parts and gifts and they are of different Spirits and they are of different Use and Service Put them in comparison one with another some are as Stars of the first Magnitude and others of a lesser Magnitude some are as the Cedars and others are but as ordinary trees Some are more richly As Elijah Paul Calvin and Luther and plentifully endowed and furnished others are not so they are lower by the head some are vigorously active and are raised up and laid out for the general Advantages and Managements of Religion yet others are not so though all be Builders yet all of them are not Master-builders They differ much in their Gifts in their Graces in their Services Gifts will free from Indiscretion Grace from hell but nothing from death in their Usefulness Nevertheless they must all agree in this they must all dye they must all be taken away Here in the text Elijah was taken away and what was he he was a Prophet and in some sense more then a Prophet He was a Prophet of the highest rate most eminent for faithfulness and zeal that was his excellency Noah was eminent for uprightness and Moses for meekness and Job for patience and Solomon for wisdom and Joshua for prowess and Josiah for tenderness and Elisha for Miracles and Elijah for zeal and courage and faithfulness All the false Prophets were nothing to him nor Jezabel the Queen nor Ahab the King and although in his opinion he was left alone to sustain the cause of God yet he alone continued faithfull and zealous Nevertheless this holy and excellent man of God is taken away and suddenly and in a very needfull time Zach. 1. 5. Your Fathers where are they And the Prophets do they live for ever No no they do not live for ever Nor yet many times very long You may finde them for a while in the Study and for a while in the Pulpit and after a little while you may finde them in their graves The Reasons of this Divine 4. Reasons why God takes away his most faithful prophets dispensation besides many other are these 1. Because even the most faithful Prophets of God are Stewards but for a time of them as well as of others it must be said Ye shall be no longer Stewards they have their determined work and their allotted time for that work their reward shall be measured by eternity But their work and their life are measured by time so much work for so much time and then their Master calls them home In Scripture you read that they are sometimes called 2 Cor. 5. 20. Ambassadors who are choice persons sent abroad by a special Commission and when they have finished their Legation or Treaty then must they return back unto their Prince the Prophets or Ministers of God are the Ambassadors of God in a special manner Authorized to treat with sinners to be reconciled perhaps sinners will hearken unto them and conclude upon terms of saving agreement perhaps they will not These have but their time to hearken and they have but their time to offer and perswade and when that is expired the Lord calls them home Again you finde them 1 Cor. 3. 9. sometimes called labourers and workmen the labourer goes forth in the morning and he does his days work which when he hath finished then he comes home and takes his Rest Thus it is and thus it shall be with the best of Gods Prophets and Ministers who are also called the Messengers of God and must return unto him an answer what they have done and how they have sped 2. There is a day of recompence for them their reward is with the Lord they are imployed by a good Master and as there are the works of faithful servants for them to do so there is the reward of a faithful master for them to receive there is a Prophets work here and a Prophets reward hereafter Christs cals it our Masters joy and Paul calls it a Crown of Righteousness the faithfull and laborious Ministers of God though despised and injured by men on earth yet they are loved and encouraged by Christ and as they are a means to save others so they themselves shall be saved and shall shine as the stars for ever and ever they shall be with the Lord for ever they shall be everlastingly blessed And therefore they must die they must away else they cannot take possession of the inheritance reserved for them nor of the Crown laid up for them indeed in this life they have the assured hopes of eternal blessedness and the first fruits and some tasts but the ful perfect possession and fruition comes not to them nor to any in this life that comes only after death and therefore Paul desires to be dissolved and so to be with Christ 3. The Lord doth this to punish the ingratitude of people who do despise and disgrace and despightfully use his servants the Prophets injuriously handle them and there is no man that will plead for them and right them Of all the men in the world the faithful Prophets of God do the most good to others and finde the worst reception from them Jesus Christ chargeth this unworthy dealing upon Jerusalem Mat. 23. 37. O Jerusalem Jerusalem thou that killest the Prophets and stonest them which are sent unto thee And Stephen chargeth it upon them Act. 7. 52. Which of the Prophets have not your Fathers persecuted And Paul complains in 1 Cor. 4. 13. We are made as the filth of the

your souls and by them doth God keep a people in his ways they are the Instruments used by God to keep a people upright and stedfast in walking before him And this is a peoples strength and safety Gods ways and none but his are ways of safety while a people walks in his ways he will be their sun and shield their rock and strength their God and their salvation 4. They are of singular use and benefit to the Leaders of a people if they will receive such among them the faithful Prophets of God have been a means to convert wicked Governors and to keep others of them right in the ways of God you read of Jehoash that he did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all his days wherein Jehoiada the 2 Kin. 12. 2. Priest instructed him See of what excellent use that good man was unto Jehoash There are none who will deal with the Governors of a people so plainly so conscientiously so seriously so earnestly as the faithful Prophets of God they will speak to them when none else dare speak to them they will tell them of their sins as well as their inferiors they will make known unto them all the minde and will of God concerning them they will put them upon the power practice of godlines as wel as others nay more then others they will stir up their hearts to be zealous for God and his truth and his ways and not to suffer any provocation of God in the Land Now this comes to be of great strength and safety to a people as a peoples misery lies very much in the iniquity of Rulers so a peoples happiness lies much in the godliness of their Rulers if the Judgements of Rulers are right in the things of God if their hearts do indeed love God if they themselves do make conscience to walk in the ways of God if they once come to be tender of the honour of God and will own and encourage the power and practise of godliness why such Rulers are a singular blessing unto a people and they are a means of manifold blessings unto them And therefore faithful and zealous Prophets are an eminent strength and safety to a Nation who are special helps for all those gracious qualities in such as do govern a Nation 5. I might add one thing more to demonstrate the assertion and that is this faithful Prophets are much in prayer for a Civil State and their prayers are very prevailing with God Said Samuel Gather 1 Sam. 7. 5. 9. 2. all Israel together to Mizpeh and I will pray for you unto the Lord and he cried unto the Lord for Israel and the Lord heard him His prayer was a means to discomfit the Host of the Philistims so when there was a great drought in the Land of Israel that it was like to perish Elijah prayed Iam. 5. 18. and the heavens gave rain and the earth brought forth her fruits his prayer was a means to preserve the Land many more instances might be given but I must hasten to the application of all this unto our selves Is the death and loss of any Vse 1 one faithful and zealous Prophet of God a just cause of grief and lamentation Then what sad thoughts and melting affections should take us up for the death and loss of many eminently faithful and zealous Prophets of God Dr. Hill Mr. Wilson Master Whitaker c. We have of late lost many precious Servants of Christ many faithful Laborers in his Vine-yard I fear that we have not laid those losses to heart that may be affirmed of most of us which is spoken in Isa 57. 1. The righteous perisheth no man layeth it to heart merciful men are taken away and no man considereth that the righteous are taken away from the evil to come There are unto me yet four sad presages of some future evil and they are 1. The great indifferency about the great truths of Christ 2. The great want of the power of godliness in the Land superstition and prophaness still abounding 3. The great contempt of the Ministers of the Gospel 4. The great inconsideration of the death of so many choice Prophets Servants of God To many persons their life is a burden and their death is a rejoycing When Mctellus heard of the death of Scipio Africanus he ran out into the publick Forum or Market place and cryed out O Citizens come ye forth Concurrite cives urbis vestrae moenia corruerunt and consult what is to be done for the walls of your City are fallen down Surely there is matter of deep thoughts and sad afflictions in these solemn dispensations of God of late For an Husband man to pull out the weeds in the garden this is nothing but for him to pluck up the Flowers and the choice Plants there is something in this for him to take away the rotten Hedge this is nothing but to break down the wals about the Vineyard there is something in this To take off a tile from the top of the house it is nothing O but to take away the Pillars there is some great change now indeed We read that when Noah that Preacher of righteousness was taken into the Ark then the flood followed seldom doth God gather his Prophets by clusters as it were but there is some great evil neer unto a people nevertheless people generally are secure and stupid and foolish though God smites them in one of the choicest blessings which he vouchsafes to the Sons of men They see loss upon loss and death upon death here a Minister dead and there a Minister carried to his grave and usually this is all the fruits of it Is such a one dead and I pray you how long was he sick and whereof did he die and what hath he left his poor wife and children It is great pitty the man was an honest man and preacht well and here is all Now to such careless and cold and dull persons especially if any such have had any reference unto faithful and laborious Ministers who can thus slightly pass over the death of their Pastors I have four things to say 1. It is a sign that you never truly loved their persons no no for all your complements and for all your pretences yet you never truly loved them of all affections love is most apprehensive and sensible If it enjoys there is much delight If it loseth there is much sorrow love is very sensible of what it enjoyes and of what it loses 2. It is a sign that you never prized them in their Ministry if you make no more of them being dead certainly you made little of them being living affections do most appear and discover themselves upon death absense and difficulties and oppositions and death these are tryals and discoveries of true love and therefore if you can so slightly bear the loss of your faithful Ministers assuredly you never knew the